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Society for Protection of Environment & Biodiversity v. Union of India - decision

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In 2016, the applicant, an environmental society, filed a case before the NGT raising objections to the 2016 draft notification that exempts building and construction projects from the environmental clearance requirement. According to the applicant, the unregulated building and construction activities would cause irreversible damage to the environment, thereby having serious repercussions on climate change. This exemption is also in derogation of India’s international commitments to the Rio Declaration 1992 and Paris Agreement 2015, especially when read in the light of the precautionary principle. The respondent, Ministry of Environment and Forests, contended that the draft notification is a policy decision taken by the Government of India to provide affordable housing to the weaker section of the society under the ‘Housing for All by 2022’ scheme. The NGT, exercising its jurisdiction, upheld the applicant’s contention. The 2016 draft notification considerably dilutes the regime of environmental clearance in building and construction activities, thereby, leading to severe environmental impacts. The principle of non-regression, an accepted norm in international environmental law, mandates that environmental law should not be modified to the detriment of environmental protection.

Accordingly, the NGT declared illegal those parts of a government draft notification that exempted specific building and construction projects from the environmental clearance requirement. Domestically, the construction sector emits 22% of India’s total annual carbon-dioxide emission and has a significant energy footprint. In the name of ‘ease of doing responsible business’, the government ignored environmental impacts that have a direct bearing on environmental protection, climate change and sustainable development. Environmental clearances, as a part of the precautionary approach, require the drafting of an EIA report.

The EIA report evaluates carbon emissions associated with the construction project, its adverse impact on the environment, and best practice strategies to reduce these emissions. This helps in achieving the ambitious targets and is directly linked to the climate change and SDGs.

Society for Protection of Environment & Biodiversity v. Union of India

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Social protection systems consist of policies that help people manage social risks in order to prevent poverty and maintain decent incomes and living standards

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

Society for Protection of Environment & Biodiversity v. Union of India - decision

Just transition

Economic sector

Finance